OFSTED

An Ofsted inspector visited Miss Polly’s on 25th May 2017. The inspector gave the management team verbal feedback at the end of the visit which was extremely positive across all four areas of the provision: teaching, learning & assessment; personal development, behaviour & welfare; outcomes for children, and leadership & management. Three minor areas for improvement were identified, which would help develop the nursery towards being outstanding.

Strengths

The manager uses effective systems to analyse the progress different groups of children make in their learning, to promote good outcomes.

All groups of children make good progress in their learning in relation to their starting points.

Older children gain the skills they need for school.

Staff have positive relationships with parents, which helps them to meet children’s care needs. They involve parents in all aspects of their children’s learning.

All staff had very good knowledge of safeguarding, all know the correct procedures, prevent duty and induction processes.

Feedback from all parents spoken to was very complimentary

Staff have a good understanding of pupils in their care.

Observations of children by the inspector matched with staff views.

Staff provide lots of interesting activities

There are lots of opportunities for physical activity and healthy lifestyles

Very good speaking and listening skills

The SENCo is very knowledgable

Areas to develop

Staff to ask more ‘why’ questions, to help extend the learning (based on one missed opportunity by one member of staff)

Consistency in managing behaviour (based on two staff dealing with two minor incidents in different ways)

The manager needs to know the name of the local authority designated officer for reporting concerns involving staff (policy and procedures were sound)

There was, however, one issue that the inspector deemed as a breach of Ofsted procedures. We had not informed Ofsted of a new ‘nominated person’, which means we have been downgraded to ‘inadequate’ overall. We have been informed that as a result of the way they report they would have no choice but to write that this is a weakness in safeguarding that means children’s safety cannot be assured. As a knock-on result, the categories of personal development, behaviour & welfare, and leadership & management have also been downgraded.

In our setting, the ‘nominated person’ should be a governor, and Ofsted would have to undertake checks on that person. We have lodged an appeal on the downgrading because our nursery is strictly governed and all persons involved in the oversight and governance of the nursery have been properly checked by us. We await the outcome of that appeal but fear that our ‘good’ nursery may suffer due to an administrative oversight which will have had no impact on the day-to-day experiences of your children.

We are additionally outraged and left with feelings of deep injustice over further aspects of the report. Significant judgements made by the inspector that were positive were left out and some were made to read as being serious issues rather than minor ones. Furthermore, the inspector told us she was constrained by the format of the report which, in our view, makes for an extremely misleading read. We have submitted a series of complaints about these discrepancies and await the outcome of those. If our appeal is successful, an amended report will be published.

In summary, we feel the report does not reflect our nursery. We accept that in not informing Ofsted of a new nominated person we have made an error. Fundamentally, however, the report does not reflect the positive verbal feedback which was given to us by the inspector.